Yamaha DX-series synthesizer technology

E744884

Yamaha DX-series synthesizer technology is a pioneering family of digital FM synthesis methods and architectures that defined much of the sound of 1980s electronic music and influenced countless hardware and software instruments thereafter.

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Yamaha DX-series synthesizer technology canonical 1

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Predicate Object
instanceOf digital synthesis technology
frequency modulation synthesis architecture
basedOnResearchBy John Chowning
commonlyDescribedAs FM synthesis
controlInterface parameter access via membrane buttons and LCD
coreTechnique phase modulation synthesis
developedBy Yamaha Corporation
eraOfGreatestInfluence 1980s
firstCommercializedIn 1983
firstMassMarketInstrument Yamaha DX7
historicalSignificance first widely successful digital synthesizer architecture
implementedWith custom Yamaha LSI digital chips
influencedGenre R&B
film scoring
new age music
pop music
synth-pop
influencedTechnology later Yamaha FM-based synths
software FM synthesizers
virtual analog instruments with FM features
legacy emulated in many modern hardware and software instruments
licensedFrom Stanford University
marketImpact shifted industry from analog to digital synthesis in the 1980s
modulationType phase modulation between operators
operatorWaveform sine wave
programStorage patch memory presets
soundCharacteristics bell-like sounds
bright timbres
digital basses
electric piano sounds
metallic tones
supports MIDI control in DX-era instruments
aftertouch in some models
complex modulation routings
envelope-controlled modulation indices
keyboard scaling of parameters
velocity sensitivity
synthesisMethod operator-based algorithmic synthesis
typicalOperatorCount 4-operator architecture in budget models
6-operator architecture in flagship models
usedInInstrumentSeries Yamaha DX1
Yamaha DX100
Yamaha DX21
Yamaha DX27
Yamaha DX5
linked to: Yamaha DX7

Yamaha DX7
Yamaha DX9
Yamaha TX7
Yamaha TX816
linked to: Yamaha DX7
usesBuildingBlock algorithm
operator

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